UPDATE on illegal bird trapping activity in Cyprus

Moreover, in 1988 Cyprus ratified the 1979 Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, adopting a long list of birds as protected, including the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), hence prohibiting the killing (hunting) and consumption of Blackcaps (Blackcaps are the main target species of illegal bird trapping in autumn in Cyprus). [...] The surveillance programme follows a ‘Bird Trapping Monitoring Protocol’ that was developed by BirdLife Cyprus and the RSPB, in consultation with the Cyprus Game & Fauna Service and the British Sovereign Base Area (SBA) police at the start of the programme. [...] Finally, BirdLife Cyprus would like to thank the volunteer that helped in the monitoring survey and the gathering of the field data in spring 2022. [...] A proportion of the sites selected were from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) database, and it should be noted that a large majority of the sites checked were associated with limestick trapping in the past, most of them found active over the last three spring seasons (2019, 2020, 2021). [...] Position paper presented at the Committee of Environment of the Cyprus House of Parliament during a discussion to change the legislation on the protection and management of wild birds and game species.